Applications for Google's 2014 Rise awards partners have now opened in the hopes of encouraging the next generation of STEM innovators.

In a blog post Friday, Google's K12 Pre-University Education Outreach officer Marielena Ivory revealed that the tech giant's annual RISE awards -- Roots in Science and Engineering -- are now looking for a fresh wave of partners willing to help students become excited about STEM studies.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are all subjects that while important in modern society, are often at the bottom of priority lists when students choose subjects to pursue. However, for companies such as Google, Microsoft and Apple, finding enough candidates with a bent towards STEM subjects and the correct levels of training can be an uphill struggle -- and so targeting young people while they are at school can help increase the potential workforce of the future.

Google offers Rise grants once a year. Non-profit organizations are given the chance to apply for funding, which can range between $15,000 - $50,000 per award. In order to be eligible, the group must be working to "expand access" to STEM fields -- especially computer science -- and projects must be aimed towards K-12 & Pre-University students.

The search engine giants says that the focus of the grants is now especially targeted towards "girls and underrepresented groups."

In 2013, 30 non-profits were given funding, with projects ranging from robotics contests in Germany to programming challenge days for girls in New Zealand. Other example projects include one-week STEM camps in Nigeria, workshops for students and teachers between Belgium and Argentina, and the partnership of groups in Liberia and India to encourage more girls to enter science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related fields.

Charlie Osborne, a medical anthropologist who studied at the University of Kent, UK, is a journalist, freelance photographer and former teacher.
She has spent years travelling and working across Europe and the Middle East as a teacher, and has been involved in the running of businesses ranging from media and events to B2B sales. Charli...
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